ArticlemedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences2020
Impact of Nasopharyngeal Specimen Quality on SARS-CoV-2 Test Sensitivity.
Article in medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
backgroundThe SARS-CoV-2 reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) cycle of threshold (Ct) has been used to estimate quantitative viral load, with the goal of targeting isolation precautions for individuals with COVID-19 and guiding public health interventions. However, variability in specimen quality can alter the Ct values obtained from SARS-CoV-2 clinical assays. We sought to define how variable nasopharyngeal (NP) swab quality impacts clinical SARS-CoV-2 test sensitivity.
methodsWe performed amplification of a human gene target (β-actin) in parallel with a clinical RT-PCR targeting the SARS-CoV-2
resultsLow quality NP swabs are less likely to detect SARS-CoV-2 (odds ratio 0.654, 95%CI 0.523 to 0.802). We observed a positive linear relationship between SARS-CoV-2 and β-actin Ct values (slope 0.169, 95%CI 0.092 to 0.247). COVID-19 disease severity was not associated with β-actin Ct values.
conclusionsVariability in NP specimen quality accounts for significant differences in the sensitivity of clinical SARS-CoV-2 assays. If unrecognized, low quality NP specimens, which are characterized by a low level of amplifiable human DNA target, may limit the application of SARS-CoV-2 Ct values to direct infection control and public health interventions.
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